Levy McGarden and the Savage Stairwell
by AADale
Summary: Second-year Levy McGarden has transferred to Hogwarts for the 1998-1999 school year, the first after the Second Wizarding War. She and the rest of her old guild will have to adapt to the new school, new academics, new classmates, and their new residence, with dangers lurking around every corner. First of five years with Gray, Levy, and Lucy.
1. Chapter 1

LEVY MCGARDEN AND THE SAVAGE STAIRWELL

/

Author's note:

I have no rights to the use of any of these characters. Those rights are held by better, more creative writers than me. In fact, as this is a work is of cross-over fanfiction, I have used other people's characters and settings as much as possible. In terms of copyright law, 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good'.

/

Laxus was sorted to Slytherin.

Next came Gajeel, and he was assigned to Hufflepuff. And as of that moment, Levy realized, the Fairy Tail guild was no more.

She had hoped that they would be able to stay together as their old guild was absorbed into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Perhaps a house of their own? Or all of them sorted into the same house? But instead they were being distributed to the four houses of Hogwarts, just fourteen more students in the largest wizarding school in the world. Broken up as if their guild had never existed. And now it was official that they wouldn't be together.

Levy watched as Natsu approached the stool, put on the Sorting Hat, and was sorted to Gryffindor. Three guild mates, three different houses.

This was an enormous hall, the largest room Levy had ever been in. It was impressive, no doubt, even though one wall was barely held together with piled rocks and binding spells since the great battle just a few months ago. Mostly, right now, it felt intimidating. Levy knew only thirteen people in the room – Master Makarov and twelve young members of her guild. She thought about the new girl, Lucy Heartfilia. As far as Levy knew, she didn't know anyone here. She had been accepted at Fairy Tail, then informed that she'd be going to Hogwarts instead. She must be reeling.

Now, Levy's name was called. She was terrified. To be in front of hundreds of strangers, all eyes on her, as her guild family was being torn apart – she felt herself panicking. _Think of the library_ , she told herself. That was the one positive thought she'd had since this whole transition was announced. Fairy Tail's library was good, but the Hogwarts library was legendary. _Think of the library._

She approached the stool with hesitation. She was wearing tiny robes that were still baggy on her frame. She worried about tripping on them. The Sorting Hat seemed somehow surprised by her, but spoke reassuringly. "You don't need to worry, dear. You don't have to sit down." Then, loudly, "this one goes to _Ravenclaw_!"

Ravenclaw! The house of the brightest, most creative young witches and wizards. Secretly she'd hoped to be placed in Ravenclaw, although she didn't know if she was smart enough. "Thank you", she whispered to the hat, then headed to the long table of applauding students. She took an empty seat next to a fair-haired older girl, who had a look in her eyes as if she was both fascinated by the ongoing events and completely unaware of her surroundings.

Next, Happy's name was called. He looked adorable in his robes. He approached the stool, jumped up to the seat, and as the hat was placed on his head, he pleaded, "I want to be with Natsu! I have to stay with Natsu! Please…is one of the houses a fish?"

The Sorting Hat groaned. "Not much of a mind here. Not much of a mind at all…but the heart, the heart is _Gryffindor_!"

"Your friend is an exceed." Levy was startled by the girl sitting next to her.

"Excuse me?" she said.

"An exceed. Also known as an egg-cat. They're quite rare. I've never seen one before." She extended her hand. "My name is Luna Lovegood."

"Hello. I'm Levy McGarden. I…I've never heard that term before, 'exceed'."

"They're in Scamander's book. It contains a fair number of unusual creatures, although it's by no means comprehensive. And what kind of creature are you, if I may ask?"

Levy's stomach dropped. She could easily pass among Muggles, but witches and wizards were too sensitive to other, less-human possibilities. But there was something in this girl's tone that wasn't accusatory. She just seemed genuinely curious. "My grandmother was an elf", Levy answered embarrassedly.

"Oh. I've heard stories of dalliances, but I've never heard of an offspring before. An elf freed me from a dungeon once. It's nice that your guild is joining us. So many students died in the war, it still seems empty here. Not as much revelry."

A cheer went up from their table. Levy had lost track of the sorting. Alzack Connell, one of the older boys, had been sorted to Ravenclaw as well. He seemed happy about it, but his enthusiasm faded moments later as his girlfriend Bisca was sorted to Gryffindor.

Next – Lucy Heartfilia, to Ravenclaw. Limited applause, forced and awkward. Levy didn't know her, but made a point of welcoming her like a long-lost sister.

Was that it for Ravenclaw? There were fourteen Fairy Tailers enrolling at Hogwarts, so the odds were that each house would get three or four. Levy watched the remaining members assigned to their houses. Selfish thoughts ran through her head. Alzack was 16; he'd be graduating at the end of next year. Levy was 12. The next six years of her life would be spent at this school without any of her old friends nearby.

The final Fairy Tail student stepped up and put on the Sorting Hat: Gray Fullbuster. Levy's heart jumped when the hat announced Ravenclaw. She had known Gray nearly all of her life. This was good news to her, the best of the day. Levy cheered along with all of the others at the Ravenclaw table.

If her heart felt more than friendship, she didn't realize it. She was, after all, only 12.


	2. Chapter 2

Fairy Tail had been a standard guild once, back when the magic world operated that way. Heroes taking on dangerous jobs for money. But as the wizarding community grew larger and more stable, most of the old guilds had disbanded.

After the First Wizarding War, there was a desperate need for orphanages. Fairy Tail, with its wild reputation, was a natural fit for the hard cases. The guild had always welcomed young witches and wizards, and now it became more of a school and home for orphans and trouble-makers.

The Second Wizarding War had come to a close with the Battle of Hogwarts a few months ago. Not long afterwards, Hogwarts reached out to Makarov Dreyar, the guildmaster of Fairy Tail. Hogwarts needed experienced teachers with good reputations in the wizarding world. Makarov was regarded as a strong wizard who thrived in chaos. He was a master at transfiguration, and had more than a little experience in fighting against the dark arts.

So the negotiations began. Makarov insisted that all of the young Fairy Tailers were to be accepted at Hogwarts. In exchange, he would take on extra responsibility in the rebuilding and re-enchanting of the severely damaged Hogwarts facility. There was one last sticking point – he would have to disband the guild. He would be allowed to remain the legal guardian for the former members, but the school's governors insisted that he could not have divided loyalties. He refused. He refused right up to the beginning of the school year, then beyond. Hogwarts wouldn't budge. By the sixth day of the new term, Makarov realized that this demand wasn't coming from the governors of the school, but from the Ministry, which had been trying to eliminate the guilds for decades, particularly Fairy Tail. Makarov relented. He hated to see the guild dissolved, but he believed that this was the best for everyone involved. A day later, they were in the Great Hall at Hogwarts, the students being assigned to their houses.

/

A boy who Levy later found out was named Arton Trigg started harassing Lucy the moment they arrived at the Ravenclaw residence.

"Loser Heartfilia! Everyone knows about you and your dad, Loser. We know how he made his money."

"My father runs a non-magical supply house."

"Sure, non-magical supplies. And if you want to sneak out of the country, he'll arrange a boat for you, right? But tell me, all those people he helped escape, where are they now? Why haven't they come back? It's safe now. If they were fine, they'd be parading right up the street.

"So, tell me, when your father was taking money from people, did he take money from the Death Eaters too? You'd think that he would have been number one on their hit list, a Muggle who helped witches and wizards escape from Voldemort. But you and your dad just lived in that big house of his during everything that happened, and no one ever came for him. Was You-Know-Who too busy to send one of his men to kill you? Or was he on his payroll?"

"My…my father never deals in magic. 'Muggle goods for Muggle money.' That's what he says. That's how he stays in the clear."

Gray said, "ok, you got your answer."

"I don't believe it."

"Well, it's the answer you're getting. She's done. You've got anything more, it's with me. This is over."

A tall, dark-haired older boy came over to the group. "He's right, this is over. We're all Ravenclaws here. Move on."

The older boy waited until the students dispersed, then leaned in and said to Lucy, "I'm a prefect. My name is Cain Cruciatus Flint. My parents were Death Eaters. They died in the first war. I guarantee you, whatever these berks put you through, I've heard worse. You'll get through it."

He added, "Watch out for Flare Corona, though. There's something wrong in her head." He gestured in the direction of a girl with long red hair, a voluptuous body, and an insane look in her eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

Lucy and Levy surveyed their new room. They were happy to have a full, four-person room to themselves. It didn't occur to them that the many vacancies in the dorm were due to the violence of the last school year.

They soon realized that they had little in common. They both loved reading, but Lucy had read mostly Muggle books and works about astronomy, while Levy read wizard lore. They both had read some of Gilderoy Lockhart's memoirs, and were both rather taken by him. But their conversation soon ran dry.

Levy picked up a piece of paper and started writing.

"What's that?" Lucy asked.

"Hold on a second. I'll show you when I'm done."

* * *

age 3 - Happy - Gryffindor

age 8 - Wendy - Hufflepuff

age 12 - Levy - Ravenclaw

age 12 - Lisanna - Hufflepuff

age 13 - Natsu - Gryffindor

age 13 - Lucy - Ravenclaw

age 13 - Gray - Ravenclaw

age 14 - Erza - Gryffindor

age 15 - Cana - Slytherin

age 16 - Bisca - Gryffindor

age 16 - Alzack - Ravenclaw

age 16 - Elfman - Hufflepuff

age 17 - Laxus - Slytherin

age 17 - Gajeel - Hufflepuff

* * *

"This is the guild, how old they are, and which houses they were sorted into," Levy explained.

"Tell me about them."

"Well, ok, Laxus and Gajeel are the two oldest boys. They're both really strong. When they turn 18, they want to become dragon trainers. Laxus is Master Makarov's grandson. And there's Gajeel….And let's see, Alzack and Bisca are boyfriend and girlfriend. They're adorable together. It's going to be really hard on them being in different houses. Alzack is _very_ handsome. Bisca's bold; she's perfect for Gryffindor. And Elfman, oh, I don't even know how to explain Elfman. He and Lisanna and Mirajane - you'll meet her - are brother and sisters. They're the sweetest people you'll ever meet, and they're Strausses, which means that they're animagi. Cana Alberona, this is interesting, I've always heard that she's an orphan, but I'd never heard anything about her parents. But then the Sorting Hat put her in Slytherin, and they're really big on ancestry. So now I'm curious about who her parents were."

"Well, what about you?" Lucy asked. "You're a McGarden, right? That's one of the oldest magic families. They're the best herbologists in the world."

"I would never have made it into Slytherin. I'm definitely not a pure-blood. Anyway, those are the older Fairy Tailers. Erza and the rest of us are the younger ones. Erza's sort of our boss. To tell you the truth, she kind of bosses around the older ones, too, but she's always been sort of in charge of us. You know Gray. Natsu, he'll be great in Gryffindor. He's always picking fights. He's really funny. OK, then there's Wendy. I hardly know her. She's still pretty new. She's really quiet. I guess she's going to be living here for a few years before she starts her formal schooling. And Happy is Natsu's sidekick; he's kind of our mascot."


	4. Chapter 4

The students were seated in one of the second-floor classrooms. On the teacher's desk was a small box, about a foot and a half square, covered by a drape.

This was Master, no, Professor Makarov's first session as a formal teacher. Levy knew he was a great instructor one-on-one, but she didn't know how he'd adjust to a more formal group setting.

" _Silencio!_ " came a shout from the doorway, and the room went quiet. The pint-sized old wizard made his entrance. He walked to the front of the class, pulled a piece of chalk from his pocket, and put it up to the chalkboard. His lips moved, but no sound came out. The chalk wrote out:

MD: "Class, my name is Professor Dreyar. I will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts this term. I would like to thank Professor McGonagall for filling in for me last week, as well as Professor Sinistra for use of her transcribing chalk. You will have noticed that I cast a silence spell on the room. This will be necessary for us in order to be able to study our first creature."

He removed the drape, revealing a metal cage, inside of which was an adorable fluffy creature sound asleep. He opened the cage and nudged the thing awake.

MD: "Now, can anyone identify the creature we see before us?"

Levy raised her hand.

MD: "Yes, Miss McGarden?"

LM: "It's a ji-"

JP: "Jiggly Puff Jiggly Puff."

MD: "Ahem. Yes, that's correct, Levy. This creature is known as a jiggly puff. And why do we need sound suppression in order to observe it?"

JP: "Jiggly Puff."

LM: "Their song puts the listener to sleep."

MD: "That's correct. It is a lovely song, and an appealing creature, so why do we study it in Defense Against the Dark Arts class?"

EF: "Because they insist on singing for everyone."

JP: "Jiggly."

MD: "That's close. It's more accurate to say that if one decides to sing for you, he won't give up. Can someone give me the spell for protection from a jiggly puff?"

The chalk didn't move.

MD: "The class is correct. There is no sure way to avoid the jiggly puff's song. A persistent jiggly puff is more focused than a gold-hoarding dragon, and _every_ jiggly puff is persistent. They can cause more –"

JP: "Jiggly Jiggly."

MD: "– damage than a dragon, as well. Put one of these creatures inside an enemy's defenses, and a besieged castle will fall."

JP: "Jiggly Puff."

MD: "Very well, then, this is my first lesson for you in Defense Against the Dark Arts: there are some things in life you just can't stop. The best you can do is to try to control the damage. Sometimes you've just got to take the punch! Ha!"


	5. Chapter 5

So their school year began. Levy was busy all the time. She had excellent study habits, and was above average in magical talent, but she and Lucy were taking a lot of remedial, first-year classes. Even missing that first week of classes left them feeling one step behind.

All the 11-year-old boys were in love with Lucy. It didn't bother Levy (much). She realized that she was no match for the blonde-haired beauty with more curves at age 13 than Levy was likely ever to have. Levy didn't think of herself as ugly. She was short, and had a tiny frame, from her paternal grandmother the elf. But she had big eyes, a very human button nose and a cute smile, and the bright blue hair that was a signature of the McGarden bloodline. An acquired taste, maybe, but she was sure that the right man would find it charming.

Levy and Lucy spent a lot of time together. They developed a natural friendship – after two months, Levy felt as close to her as to any of her old guild. Aside from her and Gray, Levy didn't get to see her fellow Fairy Tailers that often. Even Alzack wasn't around much. She had known it would be hard for her, but she was surprised at just how hard it was. From the little she saw of the old guild, they all seemed to be doing well. But word quickly got around that Fairy Tail was a discipline problem. Cana, Natsu, and Gajeel were all leading their houses in demerits.

As for the Fairy Tailers in Ravenclaw, they were well-behaved, for the most part. But Gray hadn't outgrown his habit of stripping; in fact, it seemed to be getting worse. Any time Gray had to focus – on studies, on magic, on following house and school rules – the robe was likely to come off. What was underneath the robe varied, though usually there was at least one item of clothing missing. Back in the Ravenclaw rooms, anything was possible.

In spite of the demerits, Gray was definitely the most popular of the new arrivals to Ravenclaw. He turned out to be an excellent Quidditch player, a Chaser. He insisted that sports were meaningless, but his competitive spirit was awakened, and he was naturally athletic. Most other Ravenclaws were less athletically inclined. In fact, in a lot of ways, Gray seemed a better fit for Gryffindor. He was doing well in school, but carried a much lighter workload than Lucy or Levy. Levy knew that he was smart even though he showed little interest in the academic side of magic. He had the creativity that fit the Ravenclaw house, though, and it showed through when he performed any cold-related magic.

And he was attracted to Lucy. He didn't make a big deal out of it; in fact, he was that rarest of all creatures, a 13-year-old gentleman. He was equally attentive to Lucy and Levy, and never made Levy feel excluded. A casual observer would have not picked up on the difference. But Levy noticed that when Gray and Lucy were alone, he acted subtly differently than when it was just Gray and Levy. He would puff himself up a little, act just a little more masculine in the newcomer's presence.

But no one at Hogwarts frustrated Levy more than Professor Flitwick, the head of Ravenclaw House. Sometimes, he would more than earn his reputation as a softie. But whenever Levy made a mistake, especially when other people were around, the professor was snappy, almost nasty, to her. Levy couldn't figure him out. She'd always had a good relationship with Master Makarov, and now with her new teachers. She'd hoped that Professor Flitwick, as a fellow wizard with obviously non-human ancestry, would be a role model for her. Maybe he was cold to her to avoid playing favorites, or to avoid stigmatizing her as a half-breed, but his behavior was a source of unpredictability at a time in Levy's life when she needed a firm foundation.

/

" _Lumos!"_

" _Lumos!"_

" _Lumos!"_

It was late at night, and Levy was in the Ravenclaw common room practicing her basic spells by herself when she heard a sound she hadn't expected. She looked around, and noticed that Luna was sitting in one of the high-backed chairs facing in the other direction, reading.

Levy said, "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't notice you there. I didn't mean to disturb you."

"No, it was no problem at all. I could barely hear you over the Nargles. Besides, I enjoy our time together."

The older girl put down her book and walked over to Levy.

"May I see your wand?"

Levy handed it over.

"It's very tiny. What is it?"

"Larch, with a dragon heart-string core."

"Larch! My father's wand is larch. He swears by them. He says that larch-wielders are the most clearheaded of all witches and wizards. He was secretly disappointed when I was chosen by a yew."

Levy tried to guess what "clearheaded" meant to a Lovegood. She suspected that anyone else would take it as an insult.

"I spent some time in a dungeon with Garrick Ollivander", Luna said. Levy wondered if all of Luna's stories involved dungeons. "He used to talk about wand woods. You know of course that Ravenclaw attracts academics and creatives. If a larch found you interesting enough to choose you, you're going to surprise all of us one day, including yourself."


	6. Chapter 6

It was a typical Wednesday lunch. They were finished eating (except for a few gluttons and slowpokes) when Professor Flitwick called out, "Come along, Ravenclaw! Applied Magic session!"

The students grumbled. The head boy said, "mind your tongues, none of us are happy about this."

"At least you get to do some magic", one of the younger girls said. "We're stuck with brooms. _Broom_ brooms."

Each of the houses had an afternoon session once a week. Ravenclaw's was Wednesday. It was nominally an opportunity to practice spells, but in reality it was little more than repairs. A typical session might see the first- and second-years sweeping up broken glass, the middle students recreating the stained glass windows, and the seventh-years re-enchanting them with protective spells.

Further groans from the students as they realized they weren't headed up to their rooms to get their coats. That meant indoor work. At least chores on the grounds got them a little time in the fresh air.

The repairs to the old castle had been proceeding remarkably well, but the students didn't have any sense of how much they'd accomplished. The former Fairy Tailers had never seen Hogwarts at its finest, and none of the students had ever seen more than a small portion of its winding corridors and mysterious rooms. Today's project was the restoration of two labs on the second floor. The Ravenclaw students were divided into two groups, under the care of Professors Flitwick and Gammell.

Professor Gammell! George Gammell, over seven feet tall, thin as a rail, a legendary runologist. Hogwarts had been lucky to bring him aboard. Levy couldn't wait to take his classes – the whole purpose of her overloaded schedule this year was to free her schedule for his Study of Ancient Runes class next year. He was a once-in-a-generation talent in word magic. Levy had not yet met him, and had actually built up in her mind the importance of making a perfect first impression. She was also prone to sighing when she talked about him, a fact that Gray and Lucy never tired of pointing out.

She was assigned to Professor Flitwick's group. She sighed in disappointment.

The lab they were cleaning up had clearly been the scene of a battle. Levy attempted to reconstruct the battle in her mind. A long table lay splintered in the center of the room. There was blood on the floor – too much blood for one human. Was it from more than one person, or from something larger than a person? The hallway outside wasn't big enough for a troll or ogre.

The older students headed toward a toppled lab table along the far wall, to analyze and secure the compounds that were in the jars and test tubes as well as spilled out on the floor. The fifth-years were trying to identify a blue stain on the ceiling. And so it went, down the rankings. Levy was one of the students assigned to scour the bloodstains off the stone floor.

The bloodstains brought Levy back to her earlier thoughts. There had been more than one body, Levy was sure. It looked as if one had been dragged, and there were smaller smears of blood in the middle. One odd smear. She stared at it. She couldn't guess how it had happened during battle.

She recognized it, and felt a rush of terror.

" _STOP!_ " she shouted at the top of her lungs. Everyone froze.

She looked around the room and noticed Luna by the door. "Don't anybody move. Whatever you do, don't touch any blood stains. Luna, go get Professor Gammell."

Levy went back to staring at the smear. Was it what she thought it was? If she was wrong, she was going to make a fool of herself in front of her house, Professor Flitwick, and even Professor Gammell. Her fellow Ravenclaws would never let her live it down. But if she was right…it was worth the risk. And either way, she had made her decision when she shouted her warning.

Professor Gammell entered the room, stepping carefully. He approached Levy, who was standing unmoving over the blood. She pointed down. "Is that a Dire Whorl?"

"Dire Whorl? Where did you hear of that?"

"I read about them."

"What are you, a first-year?"

"I'm a…this is my first year at Hogwarts. I'm a second-year student. I read about them at Fairy Tail."

He hunched down and studied the smear.

"It's not a Dire. It's sort of a Ruination, if there was a circle along the top. This thing's harmless."

"Oh. I'm sorry. I – I thought – "

"We'd better play it safe though. Whoever drew this here could have left something else. If he'd done this one right, it could have wiped out this whole section of the castle."

Gammell spoke louder: "All right, everyone, this is probably a false alarm, but I want everyone to _very carefully_ leave the room, making sure you avoid any blood as you do so. Filius, get this girl out of here. And give your house five points. And…put her in a cage until next year. A second-year student reading blood-runes!"


	7. Chapter 7

"Only two days until Christmas break", Levy said happily. "The Master is letting all the Fairy Tail kids stay here. There'll be others around, too, but it'll be our whole family back together. I'm so excited."

"Aren't you going home to see your father?" Gray asked Lucy.

"He's busy," she said, and didn't say anything more. Levy and Gray exchanged quick looks, and decided to drop the subject.

Flare Corona was talking loudly with her group of friends, looking over in the direction of the three Fairy Tailers. They laughed. They were too far away for Levy, Lucy, or Gray to hear what they were saying, but it was surely something insulting. Some Ravenclaws could be competitive or rude, but Flare was flat-out malicious.

Out of the corner of her eye, Levy noticed a ladder descend from the ceiling. No, not from the ceiling, but from a point in space about ten feet below it. All eyes quickly turned to it.

A man in dark robes came down the ladder. He looked around, then shouted "up, up!" The ladder retracted.

" _Tempisempris!_ " shouted Headmistress McGonagall with a wave of her wand, and the ladder stopped. Master Makarov reached up and grabbed the ladder at its base. Levy was one of the few people in the room who had seen Makarov's power before. He could extend a limb or grow his entire body, even beyond the size of a giant. Just now, he had reached halfway down the length of the Great Hall and nearly to its ceiling. Using pure force, he wrenched the ladder downward, three Death Eaters coming with it.

The Death Eaters had their wands out, and started casting explosive volleys. The other professors responded immediately, then students as well. Hundreds of wands firing destructive spells, most of them missing their targets. The Death Eaters weren't killed in midair, but they were in freefall, and had no time to decelerate. Two landed hard on the stone floor, and one crashed into a platter of chicken on the Gryffindor table.

Makarov quickly removed the lone survivor from the hall, while muttering about the setback in repairs.

/

Christmas was fun for Levy and the others. She got caught up on their lives since they'd made the move to Hogwarts. The biggest change for all of them was the more rigorous academic style. Levy had thrived on it, but some of the others had not fared so well. Happy's experience as a Hogwarts student was written off as a failed experiment; he was allowed to stay on with Natsu as part of Makarov's original agreement.

Cana was thrilled to have a proper Divination instructor. She had no confidence in Professor Trelawney's abilities, but enjoyed the coursework. Lisanna and Elfman, meanwhile, had become enthralled with Professor Hagrid. Hagrid was, as Elfman pointed out, a man – a big, strong, gentle man and knowledgeable wizard, and thus a good role model for Elfman. As future animagi, the brother and sister were eager to learn everything they could about animals, and Hagrid was an enthusiastic teacher, even after hours.

Lucy tried her best to enjoy herself with the guild, but Levy could tell that she still felt like an outsider. Natsu went out of his way to bring her into the group activities, and Happy was always there to provide her with helpful dieting advice.


	8. Chapter 8

Levy awoke, startled. There was something on her face. She tried to brush it off, but it wouldn't move. She panicked, crying out, grabbing at the unknown thing.

She heard laughter. Flare and her friends were in the room. Levy struggled, pulled at it, it was caught behind her ear…a jock strap. They had put a jock strap around her head.

She disentangled it and removed it.

Flare shouted out, "See that, house-elf? We gave you clothing. You can go away now!"

Levy was humiliated. She felt vulnerable, half-sitting-up in bed with the girls standing around her. They continued to laugh.

"What's wrong with you?" Levy cried out. "Why do you have to be like this?"

Flare called out, "I said, you can go away now, house-elf! GO AWAY!" She was shouting now, furious. Her friends had been amused by the prank, but sensed the change in mood. Things were turning dangerous. They prompted Flare out of the room leaving behind Levy in tears.

/

"Gray, is this yours?" Levy asked, holding up the jock strap with two fingers.

"Yeah, I've been looking for that. Where'd you find it?"

She told him about Flare's prank.

"…and I figured you're the only person who'd leave one around in the common areas. She wouldn't have access to one anywhere else."

Gray snickered. "I dunno, maybe she would."

Gray could see that Levy was still rattled. "You should punch her in the face. Do you want me to punch her in the face?"

"Gray!"

"We're still Fairy Tailers, you know, even if we're Ravenclaws. We're brawlers."

Gray looked at her. Not a hint of a smile, even after a threat of violence. "We need a break", he said at last. "Let's go find Alzack."

The young Fairy Tailers generally didn't hang out with the older ones, but it sounded like a nice change of pace. Except that they couldn't find him. His roommates were cagey about where he was. An hour later, he ran into them in the common room.

"Where've you been?"

"Out. Were we supposed to do something today?"

"No, it's just that we couldn't find you, and no one knew where you were."

Alzack looked around, then lowered his voice. "The Savage Stairwell".

"What?"

Alzack looked around again. "Come here."

They walked over to one of the bookshelves along an inner wall. Next to it was an archway, leading into darkness.

"Has it always been here?" Levy asked. "I never noticed this before."

"No one ever does." Alzack smirked, looking at Gray. "I once saw you try to lean against the wall right here. You fell through and didn't even notice. I don't know why, Gray, but seeing you fall flat on your face, heh, it's the funniest thing in the world. Anyway, if you follow this, it leads to a hallway near the owlery. That's how I've been sneaking out to meet up with Bisca. Don't tell anyone about it."

Gray said to Levy, "Want to go find Elfman?" She nodded.

Gray and Levy slipped through. Gray cast a low lumos so they could see their way. They walked together down a long passageway, every five to ten feet broken up by a series of four steps. No; the number of steps varied, as did the length of the level corridors. As soon as they noticed a pattern, the distances and steps changed. There was a longer level stretch, and they passed a portrait. Levy assumed that they were nearing the end of the stairwell, but another sequence of steps and corridors awaited.

It was eerie in the dim light. The lumos was strong enough for them to see ahead a bit, so they were in no danger of tripping on the steps, but it cast unusual shadows. There were strange markings on the walls here and there. Levy's heart was racing; she was still unsettled from the run-in with Flare, and now to be sneaking through hidden passages, under the light of a weak lumos, it was unnerving. And the name lingered in her mind. The Savage Stairwell?

They reached a level, and there was a light ahead. Gray lowered his wand. It was the hallway on the main level, as Alzack had said, not far from where another stairway led up to the owlery. They looked around and made sure that there was no one nearby, then stepped through. Levy nervously looked back: would the stairway be visible from here? Yes, it was. The arch was the same as the one in the Ravenclaw common room. She must have walked past each of them dozens of times and never noticed them.

Levy and Gray got their bearings, and then headed toward the kitchen entranceway to the Hufflepuff basement. From there, they had no idea what to do next, but fortunately they ran into the Fat Friar, who was sympathetic to their story. He ran a message downstairs to the Strausses.

Eventually, Elfman and Lisanna stepped out from behind a stack of barrels.

"What are you doing here?" Elfman asked.

Gray answered, "We snuck out. We needed some Fairy Tail time. Are you two going to get in trouble for coming up?"

"No, we're all allowed to come up here as long as we don't go farther than the kitchen. Lisanna and I come up here a lot. You know, we both like to cook."

At that, Elfman got out the ingredients for four enormous sandwiches.

Levy could never quite explain her friendship with Elfman. On the surface, there appeared to be no two members of the guild who were more different. Levy was small, girly, relied on her brains, and avoided fights. Elfman wasn't, wasn't, didn't, and didn't. She felt completely at-ease with him. She never could put it into words except to say that she knew he was going to be sorted into the humble Hufflepuff instead of the proud Gryffindor.

It proved to be an excellent sandwich, a truly manly one, as Elfman had promised. She couldn't finish half of it. On her sandwich, he had put a little bit of mayonnaise and no mustard, because he knew that's what she liked. After the day she'd had, she enjoyed the conversation and the companionship, but she could never remember what it was they'd all talked about. She never forgot that touch of mayonnaise, though, and how lucky she was to have true friends.

An hour later, Levy and Gray were headed back up the Savage Stairwell. Almost at the top, they ran into Professor Flitwick. He was moving too fast down the stairs for them to avoid. He barely broke his stride to give them both detention.


	9. Chapter 9

The three met again the next day in the Ravenclaw common room.

"Professor, we're here for detention," Levy said. Professor Flitwick looked unhappy. He hardly ever looked happy when Levy was around, but he was definitely in a worse mood than usual.

"Fine. First off, tell me who showed you the stairwell."

Gray answered, "No one did. We just sort of found it."

"No one has ever just found it." The professor eyed Gray, then Levy. His eye level was closer to Levy's, so he could generate a really uncomfortable stare.

"It was just there, like Gray said", Levy said unconvincingly. She hated to lie to the head of Ravenclaw, but she wasn't going to get Alzack into trouble.

"Hmph. Well, since this passage isn't on the maps, it hasn't been cleaned by the Applied Magic teams. For your detention, you are to restore the stairwell in your free time. It may take you weeks. I won't be standing over you watching your progress, but I will be periodically checking on it, and I expect that you won't be using the stairwell for any other purpose."

The three entered the passageway.

"Why is it called 'the Savage Stairwell'?" she asked.

"A seer gave it that name around 700 years ago. She never described the vision she'd had that inspired the name, but we can guess what it was since the recent Battle of Hogwarts."

Flitwick cast a powerful lumos, and they could see the corridor much better than they could earlier. The fighting had been brutal here by the entryway. There were blood stains and explosive burns along the walls and floor.

"Incidentally, Miss McGarden, if you had found the Savage Stairwell by accident, as you said, you wouldn't have known its name. A Ravenclaw should strive to be intelligent and creative, even in her lying."

They continued along, a few steps and a section of hall, a few steps and a section of hall. It clearly didn't conform to the geometry of the outside of the tower. A thought occurred to Levy. "If it's true that no one sees this stairwell unless it's been pointed out to them, then doesn't that mean that a Ravenclaw must have been working with the enemy?"

Flitwick didn't respond at first, and when he finally did speak, he chose his words carefully.

"It's a fable we tell ourselves that there were three good houses and one evil one in those days. It consoles us. It also puts an unfair blame on Slytherin House.

"Remember that the enemy didn't invade this castle. They occupied it for a year, and had no expectation of leaving. They sought out every hidden corner of this place. Dumbledore himself didn't know every secret of this old castle. They found many, and they built some of their own. Just the other day we found a tunnel that goes from the Observation Tower straight up to the dungeons."

They walked along further in silence. Levy had known how long this stairwell was, but it seemed bigger realizing that she and Gray would have to clean the whole thing. The scars of battle weren't everywhere, though. Some levels were untouched. Some, however….

"We are approaching the most disturbing sight in this stairwell", Flitwick warned them. "As with many of the battles that took place in this building, there are no records of the events that took place here. There is only one known witness, and he refuses to speak of it."

They came upon a level stretch, the longest one of the stairwell. There was a single portrait on the wall. Godric Gryffindor stood in the center, against a plain background. The look on his face was inscrutable; Levy had seen many other paintings of him, but in this one he seemed different, burdened yet defiant in his pose.

Levy noticed that the picture was wider than it was tall, by far. Unusual for a portrait. As Flitwick got closer, she could see that around the corridor there were blood stains, and bright stains of different colors. Paint spatters?

"This used to be a painting of the four founders of Hogwarts. It was here, I believe, that the most brutal fight of that night took place, the only spot where the very founders turned on each other. I have questioned Godric here about the events of that night, but he hasn't spoken a word since the battle. This is the secret of the 'Savage Stairwell'."

Levy could now clearly see the difference between the blood and the paint. There were different colors of paint everywhere, but most of all there was red. Far too much red. What had the figures in the painting done to each other, to leave red paint dripping from the walls?

/

"Tell me about Master Makarov."

Flare was talking to Levy at lunch – this couldn't be good.

"You Fairy Tailers all call him that, by his first name. It seems a little informal, don't you think?"

"It's what he prefers."

"Although it's interesting that you call him 'Master', as you're a house-elf. That must feel natural to you. What did your little master do in the war, anyway? He's supposed to be an expert in Defense Against the Dark Arts, right? I've heard a lot about the recent battles, but I've never heard anything about him."

"He is an expert", Levy responded. "He's a member of the Order of Merlin."

"He's a Third. Everyone's a Third."

That comment stung. Flare was right – since the end of the war, they had given out so many third-class designations that it had become a bit of a joke. Levy sensed a trap. If she were to say that Makarov's meant something because it came before the Second Wizarding War, then Flare would counter by asking about the second war again. And Levy didn't have an answer. She decided to go back to eating, and leave Flare to her sniping.

A few days later, as Levy and Gray were scrubbing down the Savage Stairwell, she asked him, "What did Master Makarov do during the war? Do you know?"

"I don't know. There was a lot of stuff going on that they never told us about. Gildarts is an Auror, so he must have been in the middle of it. Mystogan, who knows what he was doing. I think Gramps just wanted to keep us safe."

Gray thought about it as they worked. "I remember Mirajane lost a leg", he added.

"Really?"

"Oh, she found it again, about a week later. The thing had hopped off and went into battle. Kicked a troll to death. That's Mirajane for you. Of course, she didn't want Elfman and Lisanna to find out about it. But I overheard. We were all just too young, I guess."


	10. Chapter 10

"I don't like that painting", Levy announced to Gray. "I don't like any of the paintings in Hogwarts. Call me a Muggle but pictures shouldn't move."

"Even in the Daily Prophet?"

"Yes." She was standing firm. "You see something moving out of the corner of your eye and it startles you."

Levy and Gray were back at work in the Savage Stairwell, cleaning up the damage from the Battle of Hogwarts. The hallway stunk of cleaning products and bad air circulation. "How long do you think it's going to take us to finish this stairwell?" Levy asked.

"I don't know. The worst spots were at the top, then here, and that one level area near the bottom, so maybe we're halfway done? Another couple of weeks maybe."

"But we're getting near the end of the term. We have a lot more schoolwork coming up."

"You do. I'm pretty well set. Anyway, you've got to be happy that Flitwick isn't here the whole time. What is it with the two of you?"

"I don't know."

"You get along with all the other teachers. You're like the perfect student."

"I don't know about that - I made a fool out of myself in front of Professor Gammell."

"That rune thing? You could have saved our lives. He was just trying to keep everyone calm. Anyway, you're perfect for this place."

"What do you mean?"

"Just the setup. Back at Fairy Tail we all had different magic that we wanted to study, and Gramps helped us along. Here we have a lot of teachers and we're learning everything. You want to know everything, right?"

"I liked Fairy Tail and Master Makarov too."

"Yeah, but there's a difference. I just want to learn ice magic. If I never learned anything else, I'd be fine. So for me, it's all about transfiguration class. I mean, Defense Against the Dark Arts is nice too, because it's Gramps, and there are a lot of things I might need to know in a pinch. But you, you can learn anything here. Hogwarts is good for you."

"I'm mainly interested in word magic, runes, that kind of thing. I'm really looking forward to Professor Gammell's class next year. But I do like learning different things. I've been doing really well in Herbology. Professor Sprout says I'm a natural, but I think she's just impressed by my family name."

"See that? Most of us are here for one thing. Natsu has fire spells, Elfman and Lisanna have beasts. What about Lucy? She seems more like you."

"Well, she is a big reader like me, but her main interest is Astronomy. She wasn't able to take it this year but she's getting a bunch of introductory classes out of the way."

"Not me. I'm a third-year student, taking a normal third-year classload. If I missed something, I missed it."

"Well, you've got your Quidditch, too. I know that keeps you busy."

"Yeah. It's my only chance to move around. That, and cleaning duty."

"You should hang out with your teammates more."

"They're boring", Gray grumbled. "They take Quidditch too seriously. It's nice to see Erza every once in a while, though. Man, is she tough. No one can score against her. She's the best player in the school. I wish Natsu was on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. I've love to go up against him."

"He's only ever been on a broom that once. Remember that? I've never seen anyone throw up that much."

"No one ever has. That was the record."

"How about Eve? Have you spent any time with him?"

"A little. He does ice magic too. We both have yeti hair wand cores. His wand is a pine. Mine is spruce. They're both cold-weather woods."

"He seems like he's looking for a friend."

"He's looking for a wing man."

"Wing man?"

"A guy to help him pick up girls. That's all he ever does. What are you doing, anyway? Are you trying to find me friends?"

"I just worry about you sometimes. I've got Lucy. You don't really have a guy friend."

"You, me, and Lucy have each other. That's fine by me. I'm not very sociable anyway."

/

Levy was walking through the common room reading the Daily Prophet when she noticed Luna sitting alone.

"Hi, Luna. Did you see this?" she asked, pointing to the headlines:

HARRY POTTER HEADING BACK TO HOGWARTS

The headline was deceptive, though; the actual article told of his plan to return to Hogwarts for the upcoming graduation.

"Yes, I saw it. It should be quite an event. I believe they're going to turn it into some kind of commemoration of the victory."

"You're mentioned in the article, you know." Levy searched. "It says that…here…Potter is 'particularly interested in the graduation of Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood, and Ginevra Weasley, all of whom have been romantically linked to the audacious Auror.'"

"You know, you shouldn't believe anything Rita Skeeter writes. She's a puppet of the Flint family. Well, more of a marionette, really, but with full control of her arms."

"So, you and Harry were never…"

"We are friends."

There was something touching about the way Luna said that. Not "just" friends, as if friendship were something incomplete or to be apologized for. They were friends. She made it sound like an honor. Levy hoped that Luna considered her a friend.

"You must be excited about seeing him again."

"I am. But with the NEWTs coming up I haven't had much time to think about it. And we're going to have more Applied Magic sessions in the next few weeks to get the castle ready, I'm sure. We should have been more thoughtful when we were destroying it."

Gray walked by, naked.

"I believe that Gray's penis has gotten bigger over the past year", Luna said to Levy. "It's difficult to be sure, though. It looks different every time. But I think that overall its size has increased. Interesting device, really."


	11. Chapter 11

It was the day of graduation. Hogwarts was bustling on the main floor, but it was quiet up near the Ravenclaw rooms. Gray and Levy were walking down a hallway headed to the ceremonies. There was only one other person around, and unfortunately it was Flare. She bumped into Levy as if she didn't see her, then looked down at her. "Out of my way, McGarden. Witches and wizards only in this hall."

Gray turned to her with a hard look in his eyes. "Do you know where the word 'garden' comes from? It was derived from Levy's family name. They've been herbologists since before the Romans. I forget, what's your last name again?"

Flare was speechless. _No one_ talked back to her. She tried to think of something insulting to say, then huffed and exited quickly. Gray and Levy proceeded down the hall, reaching the door. As Gray grabbed the doorknob, Levy put her wand up against his throat. Her hand was shaking.

"Gray Fullbuster has never cared about bloodlines. He would never say that to defend me. Who are you?"

Gray spoke, his voice different, huskier. "Well, your Gray is a simpleton if he doesn't understand the power of the old blood. Look at you – a McGarden! That family bloodline is still so strong. You could have become a great wizard one day. _Expelliarmus_!"

Levy hadn't seen him pull his wand from his sleeve. Her own wand flew down the hallway. He – whoever he was – slapped Levy across the face. She fell to the ground.

"Tell me, girl, have you ever heard of Zoldeo Black? Of the Kin of Purgatory? We might be too frightening for children to hear about. I am Zoldeo Black, master of subordination magic. Old magic. I was once a Ravenclaw like yourself. I came here thinking that I could learn about magic. The Dark Lord taught me that everything I need to know about magic runs through my veins."

He looked down at his free hand, flexing his grip. "I was able to sustain myself for a year within the body of Godric Gryffindor in that stupid painting. Do you have any idea what it's like to be trapped in a painting? But it was worth the wait. You see, I swore an unbreakable oath to kill Harry Potter. And now he's coming back. He's going to be in this building. And your friend Gray is going to walk right up to him and cast a killing curse in his face."

He kicked her in the chest. "I wish I had time to enjoy myself some more", he said, "but I have more urgent things to attend to."

Levy was helpless, but she had to do something. What could she do without a wand, or a rune, or potion, or plant? She needed _something_. She was panicking, but another part of her brain was rationally, systematically considering all possibilities. A thought came to her: she had elvish blood, and elves can wield magic without wands. But how? She had never tried it before. There were only a few spells she could cast well, even with a wand. What spell could she use?

She thought hard. Expelliarmus. Zoldeo had just cast one. She knew that spell. If he were disarmed, she'd have a better chance of stopping him. She thought back to the sound of his voice as he'd cast it, the way the air felt when he said it, the impact it had when it hit her wand. She remembered how it felt to cast it herself. It was a word. Levy understood words. She could release their power. She could do this.

" _Expelliarmus!_ " she shouted, and Zoldeo's want flew out of his hand. That rational part of her mind considered her next options, and remembered Gray saying that Fairy Tailers were brawlers. She drove her knee into his crotch. He grunted hard, hunched over. She jammed her left thumb into his eye, and he screamed. She could blind him, she realized, but in a moment of weakness she thought of this person as Gray. If he could get back control of his body, could she live with herself for destroying his eyesight?

He jerked his body away, wrenching her thumb. Before she realized it, he had connected a fist to her jaw. She was fortunate – if he'd had better footing he would have knocked her unconscious. As it was, she was barely able to stay on her feet.

She made a decision. She ran. She knew if he retrieved his wand, she'd be dead, and so would Harry Potter. She had to move now before he had a chance to rearm himself.

She took off toward the door, pulled it open, and ran toward the next one. She realized that she was headed toward the main stairs. If she could find someone, she might make it through this. Or if she could hold a door against him – but all the doors along this level opened inward. She couldn't brace herself on the other side and block him.

It was worse than that. He was in close pursuit, down hallways and through doors, and each doorway slowed her down. If she could cast some spell – but there was no time. She was fast, but Gray had long legs. She opened the next door with Gray's footsteps just behind her.

She'd reached the main staircase! But no one was in sight. She ran at full speed toward the stairs and downward, shrieking for help. She looked ahead and in horror saw that the staircase ahead of her was moving. At her speed, she was going to run right off the next platform and through the air to her death.

But Zoldeo was right behind her. He wasn't focused on the stairs, only on catching her. He too would plunge to the stone far below. She found comfort knowing that she would at least defeat him.

A few steps to go, when in response to her shouting, charged spells shot through the air from three different directions, impacting Zoldeo, knocking him backward and off his feet. He had been stopped. But Levy's momentum carried her forward, past the edge, and downward. She was plummeting through the air. She saw other moving stairwells – would she be shattered against the sharp edges of a stair, or smashed into the floor at the bottom of her fall? In a moment, she saw Professor Flitwick on a level she raced past. Faster than she could understand, his wand was out, but a section of stairwell was fast approaching. It was too late.


	12. Chapter 12

Levy woke in the hospital wing. She felt foggy, and her head ached. Beside her bed was Professor Flitwick, his face dripping with tears.

"My Levy – oh, my Levy – I tried to slow your fall, but you hit the ground so hard – I've been so worried about you!"

She lifted her hand and felt her head. There was an enormous lump on her forehead. Her nose smarted, probably broken; she couldn't guess if it was from the beating that Zoldeo gave her or from the fall from the staircase. That little movement of her arm made her aware that her whole body had been battered, not just her head.

"Are you all right? Do you need anything? Do you want me to get Madame Pomfrey?"

Levy tested her movement, turning her head rightward and leftward. She saw that Gray, or at least his body, was in the next bed. He was bound and immobilized. He had been treated just enough to keep him alive. She turned to look at him, and it was obvious that Zoldeo was still in control. He was furious.

Two figures entered the room. One was her guild master. The other she recognized from the Daily Prophet; she knew that if his hair were shorter, she could see a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead.

Makarov and Potter approached Gray, restrained on the bed. Gray was seething. Potter, on the other hand, was calm, even swaggering a little.

"Zoldeo Black. Hello."

Gray's body writhed against the restraints.

How did Harry Potter know about Zoldeo, Levy wondered. Then she half-recalled sliding in and out of consciousness – she must have told someone what happened. (She really wasn't that far from unconsciousness even now.)

"Professor Dreyar here tells me that you're quite impressed with yourself. I haven't been able to figure out why – I suppose that hiding while your friends fought and died takes a certain skill, although I wouldn't have thought to brag about it. Now, according to the very strict rules of the Ministry, I am supposed to put you under arrest and take you to Azkaban Prison. But Professor Dreyar has proposed an alternative solution. He wants to turn you into a dinner plate, and leave you on a shelf in his office where you can spend the rest of your life knowing that you lost. Or possibly forever. I'm not sure how things work when you're a plate.

"And the funny thing is, I've thought about it, and I don't see a problem with it.

"But before he does, I wanted you to know something. It's been a year since I killed Voldemort, and I'm doing fine. I work for the Ministry as an Auror. I'm very much in love with a girl who loves me. I have fun with my friends, and I just found a little restaurant just off Diagon Alley that makes the best beef stew. My life is happy. I get to travel and send people like you to Azkaban, not that there are many left. Voldemort failed completely. You failed completely. That's all I have to say."

Levy rallied her senses. "Master Makarov", she said, "Gray might still be in there. You can't leave him trapped in a plate."

"Gray is Fairy Tail", the old man said. "Spending eternity locked in battle, knowing that he's keeping some monster from hurting people…Gray would insist on this. He'd be happy about it."

Master Makarov drew his wand. "Goodbye, Gray", he said, stone-faced. He spoke the incantation, and Levy saw her friend's body disappear, replaced by a dinner plate.

Levy lost consciousness again soon after.


	13. Chapter 13

It was two days later. Levy was still in bed. Madame Pomfrey had healed her face and her broken left thumb, but Levy was still bruised and sore.

Master Makarov entered the room, carrying the dinner plate that housed Gray.

"Be careful with that, Master."

"Don't worry, I'm not going to chip him", he said jovially, placing the plate down on the floor.

He said, "Well, every expert in the Ministry has been over this and they all say that there's only one soul left in this vessel."

"But – are you sure it's Gray?"

"I'm sure. He's too stubborn to give up."

The Master could be stubborn too, Levy knew. He was refusing to admit that Gray might have lost. Or was he? He had brought the plate back here, to Levy, to be re-transformed. He knew it was possible that Gray had lost, had died. He was counting on her to help identify the person that emerged. It was a huge risk he was taking. She would have to be careful.

Makarov stood over the plate and waved his wand. "Finite."

The plate shot up in the air, changing as it rose. Before two seconds had passed, Levy and Makarov were looking at Gray's form.

"Thanks for letting me out", Gray said. "How long was I in there, Master?"

"I'll give you a hint: I'm Laxus! See how old I've gotten! Ha!"

"Two days", Levy said.

Gray looked down at his body, surveying the damage. "Ow. No wonder I hurt." Unlike Levy's wounds, Gray's had barely been treated. His left shoulder was pointed too far frontward and his chest was black and blue on that side. His breathing was shallow, as if he had some broken ribs.

He stood there, in front of the old wizard and the young witch, completely oblivious to the fact that he was naked. Levy and Makarov exchanged smiles. This was Gray. Even looking at himself naked, Gray somehow managed not to notice his nudity. No one but Gray would be capable of doing that. Levy did notice something odd, though: he was avoiding eye contact with her.

She understood.

"I'm fine, Gray. I know you weren't the one who did this to me." She quickly changed the subject. "How long did Zoldeo fight you in there?"

"Not too long, I don't think so anyway. It was hard to keep track of time. He knew Gramps and I were serious about me staying in there forever if I had to, and then he just kind of realized that he'd failed in his promise to kill Harry."

"What was it like?"

"I don't know. You know how sometimes you get possessed, then turned into a plate, then the person who was possessing you dies?"

"Sure", Levy replied, smiling.

"It was like that. I'll tell you this, though: I'm never making an unbreakable promise. Feeling what it does to you when you've broken it…" He trailed off.

Makarov said, "Well, you've both got some healing to do. We were all supposed to be out of the school this morning. I got you three extra days to get better and get your things packed up, then we're going back to the guild hall for the summer."

Master Makarov had turned toward the door, and had addressed that last part in the direction of someone who was entering the room. Gray and Levy looked over.

"It's a good thing I've heard the story behind this", said Professor Gammell as he walked in. "Otherwise, a professor and a naked student, I'd have to report it. And you must be Gray. Congratulations. You survived quite an ordeal, I hear."

They shook hands.

"Thank you, sir", Gray said, then realized he was naked and dove into the empty bed and under the covers.

"Makarov, I just wanted to tell you that I was able to move that seminar from July to August, so the first part of the summer will work out fine for me."

"That's good news."

"And this is the girl you've been bragging about?" He walked over to Levy and extended his hand. "We haven't really met. I'm George Gammell. You're the blood-rune girl."

"Levy. Um. McGarden. I'm looking forward to taking Ancient Runes I with you next fall."

Gammell laughed. "Runes I? You can spot a Ruination in a blood smear. Makarov tells me that you could _teach_ Runes I."

"Give her a Runes V textbook and she could _conjure_ something that could teach Runes I", the guild master said proudly.

"Good. Ever since our run-in with the blood rune, Makarov has been telling me about your library. I've just arranged my schedule so I'll be able to spend six weeks exploring it. And Makarov says that nobody knows it better than you. Would you be willing to show me around? If you don't mind reciting rituals, I could use an assistant."

"I…um…" She looked over at Makarov for permission to speak, or maybe permission to think. "It'd be fine to do that", she finally said.

/

Makarov and Grammell left, and Gray was put into bedclothes and back into the bed next to Levy's. He really looked badly beaten. His right arm wasn't broken, though, and so he reached over toward her. She extended her arm, and they held hands for a moment.

"I'm sorry", he said.

"I know it wasn't you."

"I know. But I'm sorry. And you did great. You saved my life and Harry Potter's. Thank you."

* * *

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it.

The plan is to do five stories, for five Hogwarts years. I was going to do five different points of view, but I'm liking the combination of Gray, Levy, and Lucy. We'll see where this goes. Next up, Lucy Heartfilia and the Astronomy Tower!


End file.
